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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25412272">The Mask the Living Wear</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/koiblob/pseuds/koiblob'>koiblob</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Secret Identity, Sookai are dumb and oblivious but we love them anyways, love square</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 04:07:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,408</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25412272</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/koiblob/pseuds/koiblob</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Between almost daily villain encounters, seemingly unrequited crushes and everyday struggles, Soobin and Kai find themselves in a situation much bigger than anything they've faced before.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Choi Beomgyu/Choi Yeonjun, Choi Soobin/Huening Kai</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>40</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Rooftop Conversations</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Do you think we know each other?" it's a simple question really, but one neither had dared to utter out loud for the past two years since the very first time they met. "You know, outside of all of this"<br/>
<br/>
"Maybe" it's the truth, they're around the same age, live in the same city, there's certainly a chance that they know each other's alter egos. The figure dressed in black is moving his feet up and down like a child, as if they weren't casually hanging from the edge of the tallest building of the city, sitting down after a long battle, breathless and bruised. "That would be cool I guess but I think it's better you only know me this way" there's something unrecognizable in his voice that somehow sounds vaguely familiar at the same time, the white figure can't quite place it, but he had heard that tone before somewhere. While puzzled, he still allows himself to laugh slightly, understanding the sentiment.<br/>
<br/>
"I agree, I'm a whole mess without this mask" it's a truth hidden as a joke to lighten the mood, he believes his civilian identity is a downgrade from his facade as a superhero, but he has to keep up a good impression while dressed like this —while he isn't himself— he doesn't want to lower the younger's morale (he definitely looks up to him), after all, it's him who saves his ass most of the times.<br/>
<br/>
"Mood" it's casual, they find common ground for a couple of seconds with a simple word. "I'd probably be too shy to even approach you"<br/>
<br/>
"You? Shy? I'm sorry but I can't believe that you're literally so loud-"<br/>
<br/>
"Well you better believe it because it's the truth" it's wild how little they know about each other, about their actual lives. After working together for two years, neither minds it, nor at least seems to care enough to admit it out loud, yet the constant curiosity of who hides behind their costumes remains secretly in both of their minds. The smaller figure looks down at the landscape beneath both their feet, being able to see every single building from such height still makes him slightly nauseous, but he's good at hiding it, at hiding his fears, hiding himself, so he continues to swing his feet, ignoring the acid taste climbing up his throat. "I should be going, I have an exam tomorrow," he says and it's as much of an excuse as it is the truth.<br/>
<br/>
The black-clothed figure stands up, struggling as he does so, the older wants to ask if he's okay, the slight arch of his back and limping motion give away that he has injured himself, but he's long gone once he finally tries to open his mouth.</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
Huening Kai is almost sixteen years old and he has the biggest crush on the local superhero White Rabbit. It's not something unusual, not at all, his apparent good looks and purple hair shine bright among the rest, leading him to become somewhat of a celebrity among many teenagers, but there's one fact that differs him from the average fan, and that is that he is his partner in crime (or well, justice). He and White Rabbit have been fighting evil together for two years and somewhere among the line he had fallen for him, hard. There was something special about the hero, about his gentle but strong personality, his determination that drew the teen towards him without even knowing his real name nor seeing his full face. Sometimes he felt like an idiot for having those kinds of feelings towards someone he didn't really know beyond the craziness patrolling the city was, but he couldn't help it, no one had ever gotten his attention that way, no one had made him feel like he was good enough at anything but him. And maybe, just maybe, that warm feeling he had felt every time he got complimented by the elder had always been attraction but he had been too naive to notice until recently.<br/>
<br/>
The moment he finishes his English exam, he goes back to thinking about their short-lived conversation at the rooftop. He'd be delusional to think White Rabbit is hiding somewhere among this school's boring walls, yet a part of him wishes he did, that he could recognize him. But of course, things aren't that easy, at least he doesn't think they are. Childish dreams are usually his staple yet he can't imagine this one happening, not at all. White Rabbit must go to a fancy elite school, it's only fair looking at his elegant yet powerful demeanor and style, one he can barely say he's seen here between stinky bathrooms, loud corridors, and desks with Instagram handles poorly written on them. For the couple of months he has been here, he can wholeheartedly understand why high school has always been dubbed as hell.<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
He can feel Taehyun's big eyes stare at him from the desk right behind him, he must have finished early too and not know what to do while he waits for the examination period to end. Kai wishes he could turn around and start a conversation with him but, of course, that isn't allowed, not unless he wants both of them to fail the exam (that and his friend possibly breaking his hand for ruining his impeccable grades).<br/>
<br/>
He has no choice but to look around as well while he moves the pen he's lazily holding in his right hand up and down. He can spot Beomgyu at the other side of the class staring at his own exam sheet for a couple of seconds before writing something. He's still a bit mad that their teacher had to separate him from them for talking too much, but he understands the reasoning and isn't going to rebel over it any day soon.<br/>
<br/>
Somewhere between him staring and revising his paper for the tenth time out of boredom, the bell finally rings and they're allowed to hand their exams over to their teacher. He's fairly confident in it, after all, he has always had the highest grade in English from his class thanks not only to his father's persistence on the language but to internet culture as well, he wouldn't know what to do if he didn't know the amount of stupid memes he does.<br/>
<br/>
Taehyun wraps his arms around one of his the moment they step foot into the corridor, it's as much of a habit for the slightly older boy as belly rubbing is to him, so he of course allows it every time. They wait for a couple of minutes next to the door for Beomgyu to finally finish his exam as he's — as always— taking a bit more extra time to revise his answers before handing it.<br/>
<br/>
"That was hard" the eldest out of the three comments once he finally spots them outside, stretching his arms slightly as if he'd just woken up. "What did you put on four d?"<br/>
<br/>
"Which one was that again?"<br/>
<br/>
"The word that meant "achieve" on the text"<br/>
<br/>
"I put "reach" "<br/>
<br/>
"Okay okay so did I, that's good, we can't both be wrong, right?"<br/>
<br/>
They start walking towards the rooftop, it's usually the most unpopular spot to eat lunch at as birds usually roam around and lately the weather's been too hot to handle for most, but they make it work somehow, besides it's the only place in the whole school in which they could talk about their very secretive business without anyone purposefully or accidentally chiming in on their conversation.<br/>
<br/>
They continue talking about the exam and somewhere along the way Choi Soobin spots them, waving at the group slightly before going away with his friend towards the cafeteria. Kai has known him for around four years but they aren't close, he's just someone he knows and could make small talk without becoming completely silent after a simple sentence. Soobin is nice, extremely so, he's nice in an almost impossible way which has always made him believe he's hiding something. He probably isn't, everyone seems to respect the new school council president for a reason, but he can't help but wonder how exactly he acts behind closed doors even with Taehyun, who's somehow already part of the school council, reassuring him he's actually just as gentle as he seems.</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
They arrive at the rooftop and it's unsurprisingly empty with only three pigeons to keep them company. Beomgyu is the one who interferes first about yesterday's events once they've sat down. There's always excitement in his voice but, today? Today he just seems concerned.<br/>
<br/>
"Are you okay? I heard the fight was brutal" Taehyun has now stopped unwrapping his food and is looking at him worried too, he hadn't really seen anything but a news report and that had made it seem like any other fight the youngest of their trio had partaken in.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm fine, I didn't break anything don't worry" he tried to calm down both of his friends with a slight smile. He truly hadn't broken any bone, but he did have a large cut down his back, it wasn't deep or anything but it burned slightly every time he had to fix his school uniform and the fabric would move.<br/>
<br/>
"We aren't asking that, idiot. You said the same thing three weeks ago and you were literally limping"<br/>
<br/>
"It's not my fault that villain liked to target my foot!" he faked being offended in a quite over-dramatic way before regaining composure "I'm okay, really, it's just a cut, don't worry"<br/>
<br/>
"Yah you better be more careful!" Beomgyu hits him playfully on the leg but it's visible that he's still slightly concerned, that he means his words. Kai sometimes wonders if the older boy finding out his secret identity had just put him at more risk as he didn't have any powers himself, but Beomgyu was the most down to earth person out of their small group just because of that very fact. If it were only Taehyun and him on it, they wouldn't have a really normal approach to all the madness having superpowers were and maybe, just maybe, Beomgyu also had fun acknowledging the hazards knowing this secret brought to his uneventful life<br/>
<br/>
"Can we change the topic now?" Kai pleads and somehow the other two accept without asking to check his wound. He thinks maybe they've finally given up on him, this happens way more often than any of them would want to admit, but in reality, is so that the youngest feels comfortable, they can't push him to do or say anything he doesn't want to all the time, they're friends, they worry about him, but they don't want to become a constant burden.<br/>
<br/>
"There's a student council meeting on Monday, they're finally going to come to an agreement about what to do with the funds that anonymous donor gave" Taehyun comments after a small sigh and the other two boys look at him interested, had they not heard?<br/>
<br/>
"Anonymous donor?" they say almost at the same time and it confirms that they in fact don't know anything about what's happening at their own school.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, apparently someone donated a large amount of money to the school in order to fix the damage done by that villain two weeks ago, but there's still some money left and they don't really know where to use it. Everyone in the council has a different idea... It's a bit of a mess if I'm being honest"<br/>
<br/>
"So did you propose anything?"<br/>
<br/>
"New desks"<br/>
<br/>
"Boring, I wrote my Instagram on one of those how are people going to follow me if you get rid of them"<br/>
<br/>
"I can't stand you hyung, I really can't"<br/>
<br/>
"What? Everyone does it"<br/>
<br/>
"I haven't" the youngest comments sheepishly and Taehyun sighs yet again once the oldest tries to make Kai join him on his endeavors. He knows this conversation isn't going anywhere good so he joins in before he can fully corrupt him, he's going to win this stupid argument and knock some common sense onto Beomgyu's thick head.<br/>
<br/>
They spend the rest of the lunch period debating about why writing on public property is immoral without reaching a common consensus, but Kai wouldn't trade these small moments of their daily life, these breaks from the madness his reality is, for anything in the world.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A bit of a slow start but they'll properly meet each other soon! Honestly I think this fandom is lacking superpowers aus so here I offer you my attempt on the genre with my absolute favorite pairing. I hope you will all enjoy the painfully slow love square &gt;3&lt; Feel free to scream at me on the comments or on twitter over at @/wishlistkai!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Responsibility</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Soobin overthinks about his duties, Yeonjun is a good friend.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Quick note before we jump into the chapter! You might have noticed the light angst tag changed to a basic angst one. My draft ended up having more angst than what I originally had planned, so please keep that in mind while reading although it won't go anywhere too dark. </p><p>Chapter TW: panic attack (not too detailed) and a minor character death mention.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>For the first time in two weeks, Soobin is finally allowed to go through the destroyed part of the school to grab all the student council's belongings and papers and bring them to the provisional room they had been assigned for meetings. The rest of council members had practically been begging him to do so sooner but he hadn't been allowed in until that very moment as the headmaster ushered that before anyone could enter everything had to be examined and deemed safe for access.</p><p>His consciousness tortures him slightly while looking at the state of the hallway, reminding him that more than half of this mess had been his and Emperor's fault. He's sure he'll never get used to this, to the aftermath of being so careless with the environment around him while trying to stop villains. It is for a greater good, to save lives, this is nothing compared to that, he knows that, but it still doesn't sit completely right with him to see shattered windows, torn down projects and large holes on walls that lead to now empty classrooms on a completely ordinary faultless public school. </p><p>The door to the student council's room is completely gone but that's about all the damage it took, it was nothing compared to the other classrooms he had witnessed prior and a sigh of relief escaped his lips once he saw everything in the room was kept intact. He carefully left the cardboard box he had been holding on the long wooden table and cautiously proceeded to move the different papers and documents inside of it as well as search for personal items some of the students had left behind.</p><p>"Need help?" a voice asks from behind him and he suffocates the small scream his lips were about to emit as soon as he recognizes the sound. </p><p>"Yeah" he answers defeated and doesn't even scold his friend for attempting to scare him, he needs to get this done quickly so he can get to his shift at the bakery on time. "How did you get here?" he finally turns around to face bright blonde hair and a small smirk. </p><p>"There was no one around so I figured I could sneak in to help you out seeing how you're probably going be late again" he shrugs as he moves from what's left of the door frame and into the room. </p><p>"Don't remind me" he sighs at the memory of his boss scolding him after appearing at the bakery an hour late thanks to an armed robbery happening at the other side of the city. Managing school, work, superhero and council duties was starting to take a toll on him and sometimes it felt like he didn't have time for himself nor to rest at all. "Can you search for Seonhyun's sketchbook? It should be on one of the lockers" </p><p>"Aye aye captain" the blonde salutes him with two fingers and Soobin can't help but chuckle slightly. That sketchbook was the last thing he was missing apart from a few more papers he had already located on the drawer, and although selfish, he wishes he could stay there with Yeonjun for a little longer before inevitably going back to his draining evening routine.</p><p>"I can't find it" his friend announces once he finished looking through the set of lockers.</p><p>"It should be there, at least that's what she told me" Soobin turns around, eyebrows raised at Yeonjun's direction. </p><p>"All I found was a couple of pens"</p><p>"Wait let me check" he says once he starts walking towards there and immediatly starts searching for the object throughly with no avail, faced with nothing but four empty lockers. </p><p>"It isn't here"</p><p>"Yeah, that's exactly what I said" this throws all of his schemes down the window. He had calculated the time he would need for this with some extra minutes added in just in case, but the clock didn't stop ticking and being unable to find the sketchbook was an inconvenience, a huge one at that since he couldn't recall seeing it at any moment during his clean up and was already going really tight on time. </p><p>Frantically, he starts opening drawers and looking through them with Yeonjun doing the same thing. Finding it suddenly seems impossible, like the dammed object has disappeared from the face of the earth. He looks on the table, on the floor, even above the lockers with no luck and that's it, that's his breaking point. His hands start shaking once they've been at it for around five minutes and there's still no trace of it. Before he can notice there's already tears forming in his eyes and his friend is looking at him with a worried expression. He's been at the edge for some weeks now, hes definitely noticed, this minor inconvenience is just the tip of the iceberg. </p><p>"It isn't about the sketchbook, is it?" all he can do is shake his head while tears finally start rolling out without any warning and his body makes its way to floor, his knees to his chest. It's about getting late to work again, potentially getting fired and losing that income. It's about how this situation is practically his fault and how stressed out he is from all the responsibilities that have been given to him and rest on his shoulders not only as the student council president and as a worker, but as a superhero as well.</p><p>Before he can notice Yeonjun is sitting down next to him while sighing, looking as if  he's mentally preparing himself to say something and seconds later stopping himself from wording it outloud. Part of Soobin doesn't want to hear the usual 'I'm your friend you can tell me anything' yet the other part is aching to hear just that. He doesn't expect what really happens. </p><p>Two arms engulf him all of a sudden and for the first time in his life he feels small, but it isn't in an uncomfortable nor intimidating way, but rather a reassuring one, one that wordlessly says "I'm here for you". Yeonjun is a touchy person, he's always been for as long as Soobin has known him, but his hugs hadn't been this meaningful nor carried this much emotion, since the blonde boy's mother had passed away three years ago and Soobin spent the whole week on his house trying to comfort a crying Yeonjun that clung onto him for dear life. </p><p>"It's okay Soobinie, you can cry" Yeonjun says on a comforting matter while petting his hair with one hand, almost as if reading his mind. And he allows himself to just do that, to get it out of his system and carry on with one less weight on his shoulders and onto a hopefully brighter future. "When you finish your shift do you want to come over? Dad's gone again and I have enough money to order a pizza, I'll call your mom myself if you want me to. After all, she's never been able to resist my charms" </p><p>Soobin playfully hits him on the arm and mutters a small "ew gross" to which Yeonjun laughs and hits him back beacuse he definitely didn't mean it that way. They deem the object as completely lost the moment they stand up from the cold floor and the shorter boy offers himself to bring the box with the items to the provisional council room while Soobin goes to work his shift. </p><p>"I'll go to the bakery once I finish with this, kay? Save me one of those ugly ass cupcakes you never manage to sell! " Yeonjun shouts once they've both stepped outside of the room and Soobin hurries through the hallway on a much quicker pace than the older, leaving him behind</p><p>"I swear you only come when you want free food!"  he shouts back. </p><p>"I listen to you rant about your big fucking crush on Kai while the bakery is empty and you give me food in exchange, that's basically our dynamic dear Soobinie" </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you enjoyed finally seeing yeonbin and their friendship (and I'm sorry for making Soobin cry)!</p><p>I am aware there's been too big of a gap between the first update and this one, life's been busy and stressful and I've had to re-write this chapter multiple times but, I will try to get the next chapter you yall sooner next time! Who knows,,,, maybe the main plot will start soon ^3^</p><p>Feel free to shout at me over at @/wishlistkai on twt and please hype up blue hour on monday bc the boys deserve it sm!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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